Too cold for six years olds to be outside for PE for 45 minutes?

[Married2aWelshman]

I'm all for getting the kids outside, particularly mine, but it was 0 degrees in London today and my DD1 told me that they did PE outside and they were all freezing in their tracksuit bottoms and school t shirts, also allowed school cardigans but that's it. No gloves, majority of them already coughing and spluttering as is the January norm. Some of the, crying. It's not like they were playing rugby and sweating their arses off. AIBU to have a word with the teacher in the morning?

Normal PE provision for primary would be 1 inside and 1 outdoor PE lesson per week. In the summer, that might become 2 outdoor lessons, but that would depend on the balance of the facilities available - big field, hall also used for lunches and assemblies and therefore not available much = two outdoors. Very limited outdoor space = 1 indoor and 1 outdoor all year round. Swimming can cut across that as well, partly because travel often makes it a time consuming option - but if a class is swimming that term, it will usually be swimming + 1 other PE lesson.

If outdoor PE is cancelled, it is often not possible to use the hall instead - it will be timetabled for another class to use, IME. As most of the reasons why PE is cancelled - rain, snow - also mean indoor playtime, then pretty much every teacher of young children will have some form of indoor in-classroom physical exercise routine, simply to keep a lid on the 'unexercised puppies' scenario.

However, on a day when children went out at playtime, I'm not quite sure why outdoor PE should not take place?

Trifle do you not understand the humiliation and misery that sport at school inflicted on some people?

No, I don't. I think that is hugely over-dramatising the impact of having to kick or throw a ball around for half an hour.

And no, I wasn't good at sports. I am small and quite slow. But I enjoyed them.

Big fuss about nothing, imo.

If they didn't keep the inside of school at a balmy 25 most days, zero wouldn't feel nearly as cold to them.
Yes, it was cold but If they're doing p.e. they're hopefully moving around enough to feel warmer.

I work at a primary school and still had to chase children in to fetch coats at breaktime yesterday. Most of them are not bothered by the cold as much as you would like to project think.

I grew up in a place with much colder, snowier winters and walked around in a uniform skirt and no tights most of the time. I never felt the cold either compared to now as a temp sensitive old lady

You Brits could do with better cold weather clothes too. Take a clue from your continental neighbours :)

I live in a country where zero in winter is warm ;) kids Are outside in all weathers. but they are properly dressed for it and chucking them out without appropriate clothing would be seen as appalling.

Kids at our preschool play out down to -15 or so (of course it's not just the temperature - conditions are taken into account too.) everyone is wrapped up properly and checked regularly. They sleep outside too.

I remember being freezing in thin PE kit amd it put me off sport for ages. Utterly crazy not to equip kids properly :(

Half an hour? We had 1 hour 20mins of sport 4x a week, 1x 2 hours and one PE lesson mixed with the boys. Daily, ritual humiliation.

I went to buggy fit yesterday. I had full length fleece lined leggings on, two long sleeved base layers, a soft shell jacket and a hat. DS was wearing a long sleeved t-shirt, a fleece hoodie, and a polar fleece all in one with hoods up. Despite him getting out and having a decent run, he got cold and upset so we left early. I'd rather that he's happy next week rather than chilled off out of stubbornness.

When I'm exercising outdoors, I choose my layers carefully so that I can start off cool (but not cold) and adjust my layers as I warm up. Sending young children outside in scanty uniform where they get cold immediately as they listen to instructions then do bursts of different activities is not the same as a sports person choosing their kit and activity.

I hated outdoors sport at school. I didn't have much aptitude for it, I was slow and badly coordinated. I always got left with duff roles like goal keeper and substitute which meant I wasn't moving enough to keep warm. As much as I despised rounders, at least in the summer, it wasn't perishing. Fortunately for me, I did dancing out of school and got into the DoE award, and that was the foundation for an active adulthood, not having my "character built" by risking hypothermia.

Hmm, I think dismissing others stressful and painful experiences as "a big fuss about nothing" is really quite unpleasant and probably best ignored as that kind of person is obviously only interested in their own very limited experience.

Half an hour? We had 1 hour 20mins of sport 4x a week, 1x 2 hours and one PE lesson mixed with the boys.

Good. Your heart will thank your teachers later.

Also my 6 year old is pretty tough, he's still choosing to wear shorts, and even he is noticing it's cold. I provide him with a thick coat, and knee length socks that he can pull up and down so he's got options for controlling his temperature. But once he's actually noticed he's cold, that means he is very cold and finds it difficult to warm up.

Being in a position where he's chosen to wear light clothing and can layer up is different to only having access to light clothing.

Yup. Uk PE lessons ( navy knickers, argh) put me off sports for years. As a young adult at uni I found I actually rather liked running. I used to run in rain and snow (now slightly broken after pregnancy) but I was dressed properly in leggings, base layer and shell, plus hat and gloves.

There is nothing wrong with being out in all weathers - here we have kindergartens that are solely outdoor-based and it's fucking freezing in winter. It was -30 last year. But you've got to be dressed appropriately otherwise it stops being fun and starts being miserable. If you're dressed well you can forget about the conditions and concentrate on playing/running/having fun.

Oh good grief. They had tracksuit bottoms and cardis on, what's the problem?!
Honestly, people are so WET nowadays.
I'd use the word special snowflakes but I see somebody's already beaten me to it.

Hmm, I think dismissing others stressful and painful experiences as "a big fuss about nothing" is really quite unpleasant and probably best ignored as that kind of person is obviously only interested in their own very limited experience.

Indeed.

MsGameandWatch

You could say that about anything, though, couldn't you? People 'traumatised' by receiving the wrong change at the supermarket and 'fuming'/'raging' when someone walks across their drive. Some people are unusually sensitive - that's fine, but they should own it and stop expecting the world to shape itself around their over-sensitivities. PE is not innately traumatising or humiliating, unless you hate it anyway.

We are heading towards a massive obesity crisis, people eating so much more and exercising less. Do you actually want to send a message to your kids they shouldn't exercise if it's cold.hmm. Utter madness

Hurrah, common sense. I was starting to despair reading some of the replies!

I do think this is about the kit, not about the being outside.

So a word with the school to say 'please could a warm sweatshirt / hoody, thin gloves and a sensible hat be allowed for outdoor PE uniform' would be a very sensible response.

''I think children should not go outside to do PE on cold days' is less sensible, especially if you are happy that they should go outside for playtime.

We are heading towards a massive obesity crisis, people eating so much more and exercising less. Do you actually want to send a message to your kids they shouldn't exercise if it's cold.hmm. Utter madness

Errr no just dress them appropriately. I exercise in all weathers but I dress appropriately for it. Standing around (which happens a lot in PE lessons for little ones) in freezing temperatures is going to put them off sport.

If the children were crying, when it is clearly unacceptable. That's the crux of the matter. Had they all been reasonably okay, not crying, then it wouldn't seem quite so bad. Even then, there is the issue of susceptibility to viruses as some people have already pointed out.

All the people who think it's acceptable for the children to be crying age 6, because they're too cold, is that how you conduct your business at home? It reminds me of that Facebook post about a year ago of a Chinese man trying to harden up his son and sent him out naked in the snow. The six year old was beating on the door, crying and pleading to be allowed back in because it was too cold. This man thought he was doing his child a favour, but in actual fact when a child aged 6 cries in desperation, the adult in charge aught to listen. This is different than the cry of a tantrum because the child haven't got their own way. It's a call for help of a vulnerable child. I can't believe there are this amount of adults finding it acceptable to completely ignore. I can only imagine the daytime mumsnet of this morning are probably childless?

Your examples on in no way similar to the ones described trifle.

MsGameandWatch: They are not the same but they are analogous, that is why I didn't use examples of the same. Some people make a massive fuss about nothing. As a PP said, they are being a bit wet.

I HATED doing sports in the freezing cold when I was at school. The pain when the hockey ball touches a stick being held with freezing cold hands, a netball smacking into freezing cold hands and breathing in freezing cold air when doing cross country. It used to really hurt my throat.

I'm late forties, so not sure if I qualify as a modern softy or a toughie from the days of wearing vests in the snow, but I don't think punishing 6 year olds like this builds any sort of character.

I can only imagine the daytime mumsnet of this morning are probably childless?

Nope, I have a child in primary school. They do P.E outside in winter sometimes.
If they're wearing cardis and tracksuit bottoms like the OP said, then where's the problem?
They'll be actively running about.
Your example of a man shutting his child out in the nude in the snow isn't really comparable, is it? Of course that's not acceptable.

This, like most PE lessons has taught them nothing. I walk all year round and used to Winter Sea Fish, I like the Norwegian saying "there is no bad weather, just bad clothing".

However these children weren't taught how to dress and still be able to be active. They should have been kitted out properly.

No child should be crying with cold, they don't need to be put through that, all it will do is give them a dislike of their teacher and 'Sport'.

OP, I'd take it further.

Unless you were running around with just a top/joggers/pumps and cardi on, yesterday, then fair enough, your tough, but it was still too much for a six year old.

HelpMeHelpDS: Of course if the children were genuinely crying because they were in pain because they were freezing, they should have been allowed to put on hats/gloves. The kit should be more weather appropriate. That doesn't mean cancel PE every time the temperature drops to 0.

The thing is, crying in 6 year olds isn't automatically a sign of desperation. Some children cry because they are genuinely suffering/struggling. Some children cry pretty frequently because - like many parents by the sounds of some of the posts here - they are - sorry - wet! They find any inconvenience or discomfort intolerable because they have been taught that crying is an appropriate reaction to minor issues. Teachers cannot cancel their lessons every time a child cries. They have to make a judgement as to why the child is crying and what action they need to take. I've had children in secondary crying because they have lost a pencil - should I stop my lesson and get everyone on the floor looking for the pencil, or should I tell the child to have a quick look and then calm down?

OP, I'd take it further.

Yes, go up to school demanding your child to be always kept in as it's too cold to be out in winter.

You'll look a special kind of precious dafty.

They are not the same but they are analogous

No they really aren't. I suggest you have a search for the thread regarding ritual humiliation around showering after PE. Dismissing the swathes of women describing those experiences as wet or lazy or making a big fuss about nothing just makes you sound either nasty and dismissive or just locked into your own narrow experience.